I had cheekbone reduction + tipplasty (autologous cartilage) surgery, and now that I can finally live somewhat normally, I’m writing this review in really, really detailed form..
Before surgery : I was so, so scared and nervous that I couldn’t calm down I couldn’t tell anyone, and I’d also been dealing with severe lethargy and depression lately, so that was part of why I decided so suddenly. I had originally never even considered surgery, but after going around to different clinics, they honestly told me I really did need cheekbone surgery, and so on... and it just turned into, let’s just get the cheekbones done while I’m young! I told my parents I’d be away for two weeks and left home, but they said to come back quickly and that they’d miss me, so in the morning I felt so, so, so sorry that tears welled up... I wanted to tell them if possible, but every time the word surgery came up they would go absolutely ballistic, so I just couldn’t persuade them... Sigh... Anyway, I left home all mixed up like that, arrived at the clinic, changed into the surgical gown, and met the director... I was really, really scared. I kept thinking, am I really doing the right thing? Should I stop? I was having a huge reality check. So I ended up crying in front of the doctor I don’t really remember what I said, but I think I said something like this: I wasn’t sure if what I was doing now was right, and I really hoped I had made the right choice... The director handed me tissues, held my hand, had me take deep breaths, and said they would do their best so I wouldn’t regret that decision, which made me feel really relieved and grateful.
Day of surgery : I walked into the operating room and was so scared... really. The moment I lay down on the metal bed and looked up at the light, I was terrified. I don’t think I could even breathe properly... The anesthesiologist tried to reassure me by saying that when I woke up, the surgery would already be over, but I was so tense at that moment that I don’t remember much. I think they said I was extremely tense? That my breathing was too fast? Anyway, everything suddenly went black, and I woke up in the recovery room. It really hurt so much it felt like dying.. It was so painful that I thought it would be better to just kill myself right then and there I don’t think I could ever go through that pain again, so I firmly decided that I could never have a surgery requiring general anesthesia, like breast surgery. People say pain varies from person to person, and I think I was the type who had it especially badly. I was really in and out of consciousness. I just couldn’t fully wake up, and it was like a fuse flickering on and off. When the nurses and director came by, I’d briefly wake up, then drift off again... Especially because of the effects of general anesthesia, I felt so nauseous that I kept throwing up. The dizziness was awful... It was just unbelievably hard. Dizzy, in pain, nauseous, sigh... The surgery was at 10 a.m., and when I finally managed to gather myself enough to check the time, it was 11:30 p.m. I was shocked when I saw the time. In other people’s reviews, they say they woke up and watched TV or their phone for a bit, but I just wasn’t mentally there at all I’m really grateful to the nurses, seriously They kept taking care of me and taking me to the bathroom, but it felt like my bladder was being squeezed? That’s the only way I can describe it, but it was so miserable. I kept feeling like I needed to use the bathroom, but not much urine would come out... That feeling continued until the night of day 2. Anyway, since even walking was that hard, I thought I probably couldn’t even make it to the lodging, so I asked whether I could stay in the hospital. But the nurses said they had been working from morning until night and had to go home, so then it would just be the director and me left there. The director patted my back when I started throwing up again and encouraged me, saying I’d be able to get home fine. Then, somehow, while I was still dazed, I changed clothes, and a nurse carried all my bags and took me to the lodging. I was really sorry and grateful... If the nurse hadn’t taken me, I honestly think I would have lost consciousness halfway while dragging that heavy luggage. If you have things to move, it’s better to put them in your lodging beforehand and come with as little as possible They had also gotten my card in advance and bought the medicine for me, which was about 70,000 won and some change? You have to take everything carefully as they instructed.
After arriving at the lodging, I could drink water after midnight, but my throat was insanely dry, so I warmed up some corn silk tea and drank it. Then a little later, I threw up everything I had drunk. My memory of the first night is fuzzy because I woke up once every hour. I was so dazed that I’d fall asleep, wake up to go to the bathroom again, then collapse back asleep, then go to the bathroom again... repeat. People who have surgery alone without telling anyone and without a guardian like me will really have a hard time...
Day 1 after surgery : I had an outpatient appointment the next morning after surgery, but I was so sleepy that I lost consciousness again. I’d pass out, then come to, and repeat that over and over, but I had to take the medicine, so I ate some soy milk I had bought in advance, took the medicine, and fell asleep again. I looked in the mirror for the first time after surgery, and my very first thought was: why does my face look so short? My face is naturally on the shorter side vertically, but because it was so swollen horizontally, that’s how it looked. Both cheeks were hot and I felt dizzy, but I stopped by the hospital, got about 20 minutes of swelling laser treatment, scheduled the next day’s appointment, and went straight back to the lodging. I was swollen so badly it felt like if you poked me, I’d burst. I usually have very little facial fat, and I’d lived my whole life without ever really swelling, to the point where I’d think, what even is swelling? But when I got so puffy that even my eyes looked smaller, it was painful My mouth wouldn’t open, maybe because of the cheese castella, so I cut it into tiny pieces and stuffed it into my mouth, somehow managed to finish all 3 meals, and took all my medicines. I was most afraid of infection... so I rinsed my mouth, and whenever I could gather my senses, I did cold compresses even a little... I couldn’t look at my phone or anything. I didn’t have the mental capacity for anything.
Day 2 : The swelling was still completely puffy. I went to the treatment room and saw the director, who disinfected my nostrils, removed the sideburn tape, disinfected everything, and retaped the left ear where the cartilage had been taken from. The director said not to just eat soy milk anymore and to make sure to eat things like porridge properly now, that I could start brushing my teeth, and that body showers with my head kept down were possible. Since I was coughing a lot, they also patted my back and gave me a separate cough syrup. After the appointment, I got swelling laser treatment and a swelling injection... I came home and for the first time I ate porridge, took a shower, bought new cotton swabs, disinfected everything cleanly, felt a bit more clear-headed, and even watched TV. But when I slept, my nose was blocked so I had to breathe through my mouth, and my mouth dried out so badly that I woke up again every hour. I slept with a mini humidifier on, thinking, maybe it helps a little? but my mouth and throat were so painful that I kept waking up.
Day 3 : I felt dazed and wanted to sleep more, but I barely got up and first went out to buy groceries. I bought corn silk tea, water, smoked eggs, and instant porridges, and ate lunch. I thought about going for a walk, but because I hadn’t been eating well, I felt dizzy. I also had no appetite, and eating was hard, so I wasn’t eating much I think I’ll have to go out once I feel better. Time is really passing slowly... it’s miserable. Still, maybe because I got the swelling shot yesterday, the swelling went down quite a bit compared with days 1 and 2 when I felt like I was about to burst. I felt dizzy, sleepy, my throat was parched, the swollen areas started feeling hot again, and I got that sharp pain again at the incision site. Since I was in pain, I took more painkillers, and by evening I felt really nauseous and dizzy, but I had to take medicine again at night, so I forced myself to eat porridge. If you don’t eat because you have no appetite, your body only gets worse, so everyone please force yourselves to eat My vision kept spinning, and I kept waking up and falling asleep in bed.
Day 4 : I’m feeling a bit better than yesterday. After doing warm compresses, I got so drowsy and sleepy that I took a long nap. The swelling has gone down a lot compared with the first day, so if I judge only by the swelling itself, it feels like the level of someone with a lot of facial fat. But the area around my eyes is still very swollen so my eyes look smaller, and the yellow bruises under my eyes look awful. The incision scars feel a bit itchy? and throbbing. During the day I went to the hospital, and the director removed the tape on my nose, disinfected the sideburn and ear suture areas, and applied ointment. After treatment I got another swelling injection and swelling laser treatment. Since I had both the nose tip and cheekbones done, they said I still couldn’t wash my hair yet. I want to wash so badly In the evening I felt better and ate well to regain my energy, but at night my face throbbed so much that I took extra painkillers. It still throbs so badly it’s miserable.
Day 5 : From the night of day 4 through almost the entire day of day 5, I had a migraine and my cheekbones throbbed, and the whole area felt so sensitive and painfully throbbing Even after taking painkillers, it didn’t really calm down.. It really made me feel like I was right to not put an implant in the bridge of my nose... sigh. I got today’s swelling laser treatment and, to fight the pain, I ate a ton of soft bread in the evening to get enough calories. Is that what they call Bio-Bond? The hardened tissue spread out from under my eyes, and the sensation is really unpleasant...
Day 6 : I was so sleepy that I slept nonstop from morning until afternoon, and when I woke up I had a bit of a fever. The throbbing pain was less, but my throat was a bit swollen.. uncomfortable. I also kept up with today’s swelling laser treatment.
Day 7 : I got a swelling injection and laser, and finally it was the long-awaited first suture removal...! Removing the sideburn sutures was only a little stinging and almost not painful at all. But when they removed the sutures from the incision inside my mouth, it stung so much that tears welled up without me meaning to Since I was hurting, the doctor said, what are you going to do, your nose hurts even more... and I was like, huh, what should I do, but it really did hurt more When it came off together with the scab, the tears just poured down... And that was only the part near the columella, not even all the nose sutures yet... I’m wondering how I’m supposed to handle removing the sutures inside the nose and in the ear on day 10 Afterward they showed me before-and-after CT photos, and after showing me how they were able to push everything in well, they said the surgery went well. Relief...
Day 8 : The usual pain was much lower to the point where I didn’t need painkillers, and the bruising under my eyes had gone down quite a bit too. Still, my face itself feels heavy, and I still wake up at night with throat pain. I also diligently got today’s swelling laser treatment... I want to wash my hair soon, but they said I have to wait until the ear sutures are removed, so I’m holding out
Day 9 : Got today’s swelling laser treatment again, and although the tightness inside my mouth is still severe, it has opened up much more compared with the very beginning (two fingers fit), and I can eat things that aren’t hard. Thanks to that, my appetite is exploding again I also finally washed my face with water carefully, not just cleansing tissues.
Day 11 : Finally..! I washed my hair So moved.. Since it was the day to remove the ear sutures, I used ear covers made for hair dyeing over the bandage in two layers and shampooed very carefully. It’s honestly the first time in my life I’ve ever been unable to wash my hair this long, so I had to shampoo my hair three times, and a lot of hair fell out It felt so refreshing and good... The director used some microscope-like tool for the head and really concentrated to remove the sutures precisely. I don’t know if they do it the same way elsewhere.. Anyway, the sutures inside the nose didn’t hurt as much as the columella ones, and the ear sutures hurt a bit because there were many incision sites.. There was still some blood there, so it stung a lot. Finally all the sutures were removed, and the doctor asked if there was anywhere I felt uncomfortable, but probably not? with confidence. They said even if it’s annoying, come back at the 2-month mark to check the progress. I also got today’s swelling laser treatment, went for a walk a bit, and bought Tripline and danggui susan to try taking them for 3 days, though I don’t know if it’ll help. For now, it feels like the hardest parts are over, so I’m overwhelmed... I think I’ll have to be very careful with my ears for a while. Wearing a mask also hurts a bit. They disinfected with hydrogen peroxide, and it really bubbled up. I also keep applying ointment... As time passes, my ears will probably get better too. Time really seems to be the best medicine.
Day 12 : The few bruises I had left have all faded, but I was surprised by the swelling when I checked with the rear camera so I got swelling laser treatment and, for the first time today, walked more than 10,000 steps.. But it was so cold that I couldn’t walk more than 20,000 steps
Day 13 : When the weather is too cold, I think walking outside is actually not good I got hit with cold wind too much yesterday, so my nose started running and I felt like I was coming down with a cold, so I gave up on walking... I got the final swelling laser treatment today and had another CT and photos taken. I’ve made a follow-up appointment for the 2-month mark, so I won’t need to go to the hospital for a while now. I only have to take my medicine until tomorrow, and then I’m done. Because of the first week when I was so dazed from pain, I can’t believe two weeks have already passed... Looking back, I was really fearless I still can’t believe it... I wrote this on day 3 or day 4, and it feels strange and unreal now.. The foreign feeling in my face, the tightness inside my mouth, the stinging ears, and other uncomfortable little pains are still there. I’ll come back to write a review once the swelling goes down fully and I reach the 2-month mark!
Closing note written while dazed *Right now I’m still so swollen that I can’t really tell. But I can see that the cheekbones are gone. I already went through with it... I keep realizing that I really did go through a major surgery. I’m lonely and struggling, but I’m rationalizing it by thinking maybe it was the right choice not to show my parents this puffy, painful 모습...? I really miss my mom If she notices that I had surgery, should I just honestly confess everything, or should I make up some excuse that I had a procedure? What I regret after this surgery is that the guilt I feel toward my parents is so, so huge that it hurts me mentally. The reason I wrote such a detailed review is that if your cheekbones are at a normal level, or you’ve never been told insulting things about them like “scissor face” and the like, then I hope you just won’t do it. I went to more than 12 places just for consultations for my nose and cheekbones combined. It is truly painful, and it’s a much bigger surgery than you might think. If even cheekbone type 1 alone is this painful, how do people endure it when they do type 2 or more... You’re amazing Looking at others, there are quite a few people with fairly smooth, ordinary face shapes who get contouring surgery because they think it’s just simple, as if the apps say so